News
The Welcome Team Gets Busy!
St. Paul’s Welcome Team (formerly Task Force) has been busy lately! On April 26th we held our first social event for a group of newcomers to St. Paul’s. It was a great success, with a chance for all of them to meet and chat with Eric (and his family, of course) and to have a sumptuous buffet meal at Stewart Graham’s Hill House apartment with its marvelous view of the Center City skyline. Most of the Team was able to attend, and we found that the newcomers have interesting backgrounds and some want to get involved in one or more of St. Paul’s ministries soon. We plan to have another dinner in late May, to accommodate some new families with teenagers (who are of course too busy on weekends to attend church dinners). Then we hope to have more social events in the fall and hold them outdoors if the weather’s good.
On May 5th after all three church services we began our greeters program, with a member of the Team stationed on the Labyrinth so that Eric could refer any newcomers to them to be welcomed and to answer any questions they might have. We plan to have a greeter after most services for the next month or two.
Finally, the Flower Distribution ministry is getting involved in the welcoming. On Mondays, Charlotte Biddle and several others take the altar flowers down and create several smaller arrangements to deliver to those on the parish prayer list. Sometimes they have extra flowers, so Charlotte asked us whether they can take the extra arrangements to newcomers. Frankie Sims of the Welcome Team immediately volunteered to give Charlotte the new names and addresses, because she really appreciated being given flowers when she was new to her previous church.
If you’d like to get involved in St. Paul’s Welcome Team or have an idea for us to consider, please contact Fr. Eric or me.
Blessings – Louise Thompson
